Hydrapak Stash 750 ml

The Hydrapak Stash Collapsible bottle is great for conserving pack space and going UL. However, most of the time it can be hard to drink out of and is difficult to use.

While this bottle takes up minimal pack space and is very light, it definitely is not user friendly. I have only had this bottle for about a month, but it is easy to tell how it performs.  

The bottom is made of stiff plastic, which provides good stability but makes it a challenge to open. You have to press on the sides once they are lined up with the lid. It often takes me several tries to get it open. Once it is open, pouring water into the bottle is a breeze due to the wide mouth rim.  

Drinking with the Hydrapak is a different story though. When it is full of water, the bottle is more solid and thus easier to drink out of. The more you drink however, the harder it becomes to get water out as the bottom sags down below to top. It takes two hands at this point in order to get a proper sip. This can be an issue if, like me, you don’t stop hiking to have a drink. As well, the less full the bottle is, the harder it is to put it in a side pocket of a backpack due to its fluid dimensions.  

Another unfortunate issue is that the water tastes bad after it has been sitting for awhile. After only a few minutes the water tastes a little bit like plastic. After a couple of days though, the water becomes basically undrinkable. The good news is that the bottle is BPA- and PVC-free, so the bad taste is not bad for you. It just isn’t pleasant.  

The bottle also comes with a little plastic loop at the top. It’s obviously a handle of some sort but the plastic is too flimsy to support a lot of pressure and it is in an inconvenient position. Luckily, it doesn’t get in the way.

This Hydrapak water bottle definitely frees up pack space and is a lot of fun, but unfortunately it is not user friendly. I plan on sticking with my good old Nalgene.  

 Here are some photos:

Low volume collapsible bottle from HydraPak.

I bought this little bottle as an emergency in case my hydration bladder failed, but soon became a standard when going lightweight, like when you leave your backpack behind to reach for the peak or when needing a quick refill from a stream.

This is the 750ml. version, smoke color, but it also comes in 1L capacity in blue, orange, lime, and green color as well.

In my opinion the 1L is overkill and I would opt for the hydration bladder solution instead.

As the instructions follow: "Squeeze between tabs to unlock" and untwist (always with open cap) to expand.

The main bottle material is made of thermoplastic polyurethane which is sonic welded and is 100% BPA and PVC free! The feel is Platypus-like soft and the taste is more neutral than my Source Widepak and that's why later on I bought Hydrapak's Shape-Shift.

The cap and end are made of HDPE, which is a very strong food-grade plastic and as far as the cap goes it's totally leakproof even when squeezing the bottle.

You can use one carabiner...

...or you can use this point at the bottom of the bottle..

..to mount it in your pants like this! Dangle-free (yey)!





Which is WAAAY more steady than the standard one-point clip (except when empty).

Do it in reverse and press until you hear a 3-side "click" recap and you're done AND you can tuck the loop and carabiner in the hollow point.

Definitely a (now) standard piece in my backpack. Highly reccomended!

P.S. It is also filter compatible (from HydraPak) since my Sawyer Mini doesn't.